It’s Not About Me

Back when I was at the height of my mental health struggles, I started having thoughts about whether the bible actually impacted or even spoke to us. So much of the bible requires us to understand the historical context that it felt like I was just reading a story of what happened to other people, especially God’s chosen people, which I questioned whether that included me. Then, there are letters written by saints like Paul for specific people like Timothy or large groups of people like those in Corinth. Again, these letters were directed to those people, not us, right? Well, actually yes, but there’s more to it.

I recognize that these thoughts were a mixture of spiritual warfare as well as having a brain that was simultaneously trying to recover from burnout while still being in the thick of a stressful time in my graduate program. I will say though that I appreciated these questions because without them, I would probably still be seeking God to speak to me through scripture, rather than using scripture to learn about who God is.

The funny thing about this, however, is that I did not actually do anything with this thought until January 2024, over a year later. So, one day I sat down and “tested” my hypothesis: what if (and I am not suggesting that this is the only way) scripture is meant to teach us about who God is?

I tested this with the First Letter of John (NAB). Here is what I learned:

In order of when they appear,

• God is light. In Him there is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5)
• Jesus cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7)
• Jesus Christ is faithful and just and will forgive our sins (1 John 1:9)
• Jesus Christ will cleanse us from every wrongdoing (1 John 1:9)
• Jesus Christ is the advocate with the Father (1 John 2:1)
• Jesus is the expiation of our sins and those of the whole world (1 John 2:2)
• Jesus is the Christ (1 John 2:22)
• God is greater than our hearts and knows everything (1 John 3:20)
• God remains in those who keep His commandments (1 John 3:24)
• God is greater than the one who is in the world (1 John 4:4)
• Love is of God (1 John 4:7)
• God is love (1 John 4:8)
• Jesus is the son of God (1 John 4:16)
• God is love (1 John 4:16)
• [Jesus Christ] is the true God and eternal life (1 John 5:20)

Some of you reading this blog post may have been reading scripture this way, but I was not. Therefore, I hope this helps those who have had similar questions or thoughts on their spiritual journey.

Finally, I challenge everyone who reads this post to read one book of the bible with this approach. I challenge you to write out on a piece of paper (just like I did) what you learned about God in this process. I have learned so much more about God when I am seeking to learn about who He is and I hope you will too.